Stone Cold Magic by Jayne Faith

It’s only taken me 12 days but I finally have a review for #SelfPubFantasyMonth. An urban fantasy with more than just vampires and shifters.

Synopsis –
Demon patrol officer Ella Grey was pronounced dead after an accident on the job, but eighteen minutes later she woke up on a gurney bound for the morgue. With no explanation for her mysterious resurrection, she just wants to get back to life as usual. But she didn’t return to the living alone. The soul of a reaper followed her back from the grave, and it’s not just along for the ride. It’s taking over her body and mind, trying to use her to continue its morbid work. But it also gives her visions of her troubled brother, Evan, who disappeared years ago. The reaper might be her biggest ally in her search for Evan—if it doesn’t eat her soul first.
Torn between the instinct to survive and the realization that only death’s eyes can lead her to her brother, Ella throws herself into a race against time to somehow out maneuver the reaper.

I loved the world. There was a major tear in dimensions and demons made their way through, with a zombie and vamp virus as well. After 30 years the world has gotten to a new normal. They don’t just have police any more, officers also walk the beat chasing down demons. Vamps are mostly docile, people have magic and going outside at night is asking to be possessed.
There was a lot of world building to set up the rest of the series and I think the plot line may have suffered a little as a result. We were repetitively told about magic and types of demons, but the actual action was rushed. The characters seemed to just miraculously get it done. We are quickly introduced to a lot of people and they seemed to just be in there because to set up their spot in the next book.

I’m still not sure what I think of Ella, our mc. She attracts the powerful men and everything just works out for her, as everyone does whatever she wants. Possible spoilers ahead – She talks constantly about her lack of magic, so it’s really obvious that she is going to have lots of power hiding away. It probably wouldn’t have irritated me, except for how often it’s mentioned. She is constantly asking people for things, she has no problems crossing the line into personal subjects or asking friends to do things that they are clearly uncomfortable with. I’m just not sold on her yet, maybe in book 2 I’ll warm up to her a little, but for now we are frosty.

The side characters, Ella’s fan club, all seem to have really interesting back stories, so I’m looking forward to seeing where they head in book 2. I feel like we got to know them more than Ella. They were a lot easier to like.

My biggest issue with the book was the repetitive paragraphs. We had arch demons explained twice in great detail, only to be explained just as much a couple of pages later. Repetitive phrases, throughout. I get that the dogs eyes flared a different colour, but you don’t need to say it ten times. These things pull me out of the story, which is never a good thing.

All in all, an interesting world with exciting magic. A quick read and an enjoyable way to spend a few hours.

Title: Stone Cold Magic
Author: Jayne Faith
Released: 31 October 2016

Get your own copy – Amazon